Disclaimer: Not an expert, but I do have a place in the City that one day may become a rental and have seen a lot of property in that size range. I would consider the U-shaped plan or even an L-shaped plan. Don't chop up the plan with the peninsula. As others point out, you are creating a lot of pinch points, danger zones and a lot of dead space in some valuable real estate. I would not consider an undercounter fridge; that would be a huge rental liability, I think, especially depending on which neighborhood you are in. A smaller one is OK, but this is not an efficiency. I could not see your plan, either. Where is the window? Usually there is one in the back wall of these Victorians, or at least a door with a glass portion to let in light. If you move a range to the wall opposite the dining area, you open up space to put your double bin recycling center next to your sink. An overhead microhood could go over the range, and is pretty typical, even in the Victorians I've seen (subject to venting needs and window placement -- this could be flip-flopped). Is that a window near the current peninsula? If so, that makes the better sink location. If you make the layout a U, consider adding a full length cabinet on the other wall, next to the fridge as supplemental storage for the apartment. I don't know what the rest of the flat looks like, but usually there is a big deficit of storage elsewhere for things like vacuums and other things. If the tall cabinet(s) are arranged correctly, they won't appear oppressive and you'll have plenty of counter space elsewhere.

if you get this house, you really need to live in it a year before you start major remodels. it took us 2 years in our 4square to come up with an intelligent kitchen design. we did re-arrange things several times. check in the basement and see if there are any signs from previous remodels-- holes from gas/water lines. Our final kitchen plan after 2 years was identical to the orginal lay-out-- all the holes for gas, electric, plumbing and heating were right where we wnet to put everything. we bought our cabients, fixtures, appliances after we decided where evrything was going to go and what we liked. medium oak, beige tile, atainless appliances, off-white flooring (major error), almond countertops. each time an item wen on sale we bought it and stored all in the basement. we waited until we installed to order the counters. we moved everything out of the kitchen. hooked up the microwave in the dining room. stripped it all to the four walls, and scrubbed it all down on saturday. Sunday we painted, walls, wood work & ceiling. Monday I laid the sheet vinyl floor. Tuesday I put in all the base cabients. replaced to stove, fridge and rehooked up the sink. plywood went down as temp counters. Wed i installed the ceiling fan--i was desperate, the recessed light over the sink and the wiring for new electric above the backsplash. Thursday I hung the upper cabients and the stove hood. Friday they came to measure for counters and i put away all the dishes and stuff. Two week later the counters got installed-- done by home depot. i finished the tiles work for the backsplash, and installed the new sink and faucet. we could have eaten out for the 1st 3 days if necessary. I'm not really handy when it comes to house repairs. but i got top of the line cabients for 40% off, got the flooring for 60% off-- it was a discontinued pattern. Tiles for backsplash were also very cheap ($ .25 each 4x4) all from open boxes-- had to pick thru one by one), saved about $150 on the stove and $200 on fridge, bought the ceiling fan at the end of the summer sales saved 25%. The sink was a display model (30% off) and faucet we got 10% off because we opened an account at lowes. The only labor that we paid for was for the countertop installation that I didn't want to try doing alone. my wife helped to take stuff out of the kitchen and paint. I watched out twin 4 year olds and did the rest by myself since i was working 3-11 shifts at the time. After 15 years it's time for more work-- tile floor, solid surface counters, a dishwasher, new faucet and disposal. then a gas range and electric oven and a new fridge. ill do the floor, others can do the rest. hope you get the house. but live with the kitchen first until you know what you want. do like the red/white deco scheme you have in mind. you might consider 'quilted' steel backsplashes and a stainless hood. diggerb

I didn't put the cooktop in the island -- I don't think you have to get used to the idea. You have a choice. I have had both and really like having an island as a buffet counter, dough working area and prep space -- even a dual sided work space when DH and I are both working. I had them with young kids, but never with seating. We didn't have any safety issues, but I can see the potential and I dont think it would be comfortable or appealing to sit at the island if the cooktop is on. Your view is blocked, there will be heat and you (or your book, homework, phone, etc.) can get splattered. You could even put the cleanup sink an DW in the island and have a bar sink in the beverage/snack area but not a prep sink. I tend to like single level islands, and it seems a lot of folks who have had dual level ones change them out to a single level. You could do two levels if that suits you better. Either way, my preference would be to not have seating at the island. That appears to be a major traffic path. Do you really need it? Would it really work out well? I didn't have room to even consider seating in my kitchen, so I put 13" deep cabinets (like my wall cabinets) on the back side of my island. It has turned out to be incredible small appliance, outdoor or holiday dish storage and more. You could make the cabinets 15" and pick up just a little more in storage options (a few appliances and serving pieces could use the extra room). If you put a bench against the wall, furniture or built-in, you can extend that island and still have a good size sink and good prep space.

I give you props for an innovative idea (to draw it out on the driveway) but it made me dizzy to watch, and I was unable to visualize it. Please draw it out to scale on graph paper and post that. I can't say for sure but it seemed that you have a lot of smaller cabinets/drawer stacks which would ultimately be wasting space. ETA: you posted at the same time so thanks for that, but it needs all the dimensions - walls, cabinets, windows, doorways - to get the best help.